1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical recording media, such as optical discs, and more particularly, relates to an optical disc apparatus for recording/reproducing data on/from an optical disc provided with optimum power control (OPC), and a method for controlling the same.
2. Related Art
Recording media such as optical discs have been developed and commercialized to record and store image data and sound data with improved performance for a long period of time. Such optical disks can be classified as either compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVD) according to data recording capacity. Examples of optical disks that can be recorded, deleted, and reproduced include 650 MB CD-Rs, CD-rewritables (RWs), 4.7 GB DVD+R/RWs, DVD-random access memories (RAMs), and DVD-R/RWs. Examples of optical disks that are dedicated for data reproduction include 650 MB CDs and 4.7 GB DVD-read only memories (ROMs). In addition, due to limitations in increasing storage capacity of the conventional DVD-ROM, standardization for new high-density optical discs, for example, rewritable blue-ray (BD) disc, has been rapidly advanced.
When data is recorded on a high-density optical disc, an optimum power control (OPC) process is performed to determine an optimum writing power for recording data on an associated optical disc, i.e., the best recording laser power setting for each optical disc and a recording/reproducing apparatus combination. Typically, a test zone is provided for the OPC process. Usually, a predetermined zone of the optical disc must be selected and erased to provide a test zone for the OPC process, and erasing-error detection must then be performed on the test zone to detect whether a record is completely erased from the test zone or whether defects exist in the erased test zone.
Conventionally, if a record is not erased, or a defect is still present in the test zone, the process of erasing the test zone and of detecting the non-erased record or defect in the test zone must be repeated until the test zone is free from any record or defect.
However, such an erasing process can take a significant amount of time. Moreover, if an error occurs due to serious defects such as contaminants or physical damage of the test zone on the optical disc, such defects cannot be eliminated. As a result, even if the test zone erasing process is repeated on the same test zone, there is no way to secure a test zone that is free from any record or defect. Furthermore, since the optimum amount of laser power needed to record data on an optical disc is determined based on the condition that the test zone is incompletely erased, there is an increased error frequency resulting in failure to determine the optimum laser power.